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Agenda item
Draft Corporate Plan 2016/17 to 2018/19
Minutes:
The Director of Corporate Services and Governance presented the draft corporate plan 2016/17 to 2018/19. The corporate plan set out the council’s strategic direction and priorities, together with the service activities that would be undertaken to achieve them.
The Continuous Improvement and Democratic Services Manager explained that the layout of the draft corporate plan had been revised, to show how the key activities that would be undertaken in 2016/17 related to the council’s corporate priorities. The plan also described how the success of these activities would be measured. He explained that draft work plans and performance indicators for the key activities would be submitted to overview and scrutiny members, to assist them with their performance monitoring role.
The committee welcomed the updated layout of the corporate plan, commenting that it improved the accessibility of the document for members and the public.
Consideration was given to the key activities and indicators of success set out in the plan. Further information on the Hastings Flood Plan was requested, which the lead member agreed to circulate by email.
Discussion took place regarding plans to mark the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. Councillor Chowney explained that a programme of events had been agreed, and further details would be released throughout the year. An independent ROOT 1066 website had also been launched, providing details on a range of events taking place in 2016.
Members asked for the timescale to agree a list of local Heritage Assets. Councillor Chowney explained that this area of work had initially been dependent on the adoption of the local plan. Now that the plan was in place, a process had been agreed by which a local group of interested parties would make suggestions on assets which could be included on the list, members of the public could also put forward suggestions independently.
The committee acknowledged that a number of aspects of the plan included work with partners to support improvements to key services which the council was not directly responsible for, such as education, highways and securing a high speed rail service. Councillor Chowney commented that it was important that the corporate plan reflected the council’s broader ambitions for the town, and that the council would continue to work with its partner agencies to support improvements to key services.
Members noted that it was intended for the council-run leasing scheme for privately rented accommodation to become cost neutral by 2019, subject to the results of a pilot scheme in 2015/16. The Director of Corporate Services and Governance commented that members would continue to receive updates on this service as part of their quarterly performance monitoring report. Councillor Chowney added that interest in this scheme had increased over recent months.
The committee recommended that section 10 of the draft Corporate Plan, leisure, health and wellbeing, should reference the development of the Combe Valley Countryside Park. A new discovery centre at the countryside park was due to be opened in March 2016, and a range of other activities were being planned.
Members recommended that the key activities listed at viii in section 9, a good place to live, regarding bringing long term empty properties back into use should be amended to reflect that the target applied to 70 long term empty properties over two years and the improvement of 50 neglected properties each year.
Members noted that museum attendance figures nationally had declined over recent years, particularly at smaller venues. The Director of Corporate Services and Governance replied that members would continue to receive performance monitoring information for museum attendance figures over the coming year.
Discussion took place regarding whether the council’s values should be amended to list religious beliefs separately from philosophical beliefs. Councillor Chowney explained that the wording of this section had been taken from equalities legislation, and the committee did not recommend that this was changed.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that the comments of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the council’s draft Corporate Plan for 2016/17 – 2018/19 be referred to the Budget Cabinet for consideration
The reason for this decision was:
To ensure the joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee comments can be considered by the Budget Cabinet, prior to final recommendations being made to the Full Council.
Supporting documents:
- Draft Corporate Plan 2016-17 to 2018-19, item 23. PDF 104 KB
- Draft Hastings Borough Council Corporate Plan and Service Priorities 2016-17 to 2017-18, item 23. PDF 329 KB
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